


Rover Council Propaganda?

by siltimgoinghome



Category: Rover Red: Alone in Apocalypse (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Talesfromthecouncil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 18:16:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12238122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siltimgoinghome/pseuds/siltimgoinghome
Summary: This is how the official Rover Council Propaganda™ began and how it took hold in the Rover Fortress (sorry guys).





	Rover Council Propaganda?

Underwear? No, that’s not what Famine would call them… Nick sat hunched against a brick wall on a crowded street, a pen and notebook in hand. Deep in thought, he chewed the top of the pen cap and reasoned with himself. Ah, I don’t know anything better to call them. This will have to do. He scribbled down “She slid her hand into Ricketts’s underwear.” The words came faster now, the throbbing sound of MGMT piercing through his headphones as he went. 

His pen finally halted as he stared down as his handiwork. He had scribbled through a few pages of his notebook in almost no time flat. He read it over once, cringing at his usage of words like “ministrations” and “contentedly.” Ugh, this was cheesy. But the time felt right. He struggled with a second for what to call it before dwelling on the music he had just listened to. “Electric Feel” was perfect – just the right amount of cringe-worthy for it to be good. He stood from his spot and began to walk.

The afternoon sun beat down on his face as he scrambled down the sidewalk. He knew he didn’t have much time before the ones nested permanently in the fortress would wake to start their days, so he had to hurry. When he made it to the door of the fortress he sighed in relief, pulling it open quietly and scurrying to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited, tapping his foot impatiently. The door swung open, and he was startled to find another body crowding it. This hadn’t been here the last time he snuck in to check the place out.

The body appeared to have three heads, two of which were asleep. The third stared at him, hazel eyes burning into him from behind glasses. He stepped into the elevator anyway, standing up taller as to not break eye contact with the woman. She was … really cute actually. The baggy sweater framed her face and expressionless mouth, making her look both cozy and pissed. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of this one, but he had come too far not to try now.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “Floor?”

He paused, blanking on the floor the break room was on. “I guess, seven?”

She continued to study him closely; for what, he wasn’t sure. But without another word she pressed the button, and off they were going to the seventh floor.

He got off with a softly whispered thank you, stepping onto the seventh floor without looking back. He froze, looking around. He knew immediately that he had made a mistake. This was the wrong floor. Well, fuck. He didn’t know how he was going to face her again – he was almost too scared to try. But after searching and being unsuccessful in finding any sort of stairs, he knew he had to do it. Might as well just get it over with.

She smirked when she saw him reenter. “Back so soon, huh?”

His face flushed. “Yeah, uh, I got the floor wrong. Can we go to eight instead?”

She pressed the button for eight and the elevator began to rise. He stared straight ahead, the red tint not leaving his cheeks. She waved in front of his face to get him out of his daze.

“Hey, the stairs are over on the other side of the floor. You might have to get down quickly if you don’t want anyone else to see you.”

He looked up at her in surprise. It seemed like she knew he wasn’t supposed to be here and was helping him anyway. He didn’t understand why. “Thank you,” he mumbled finally as they reach his stop.

“Don’t mention it. And don’t worry. No one checks the video cameras around here anyway. Your secret is safe with me.” She gave him a full smile this time. “Now get going.”

He scurried off the elevator again, this time looking back to see her face once more before the door closed. He sighed, then gathered himself. Now that he was on the right floor, he knew exactly where he had to go. The break room was fairly close to the elevator. Unsurprisingly, there was no one around as he quietly opened the door to go in. He focused in on his target, the bulletin board. Taking several thumbtacks, he pinned the ripped pages from his notebook up, then stood back to admire it. Looking good. He couldn’t wait to hear about the reaction to this one.

He left the room, briskly walking to where the woman had said the stairs would be. He passed a window and saw the sky tinted with red. She had been right: he didn’t have time to waste. He ran down the flights of stairs as fast as he could and exited the building without a second thought.

-

Tina walked through the streets, night fully descended upon the city. It had taken about an hour from the first person waking up for the tawdry bulletin board postings to be discovered, and they had caused quite an uproar. Braddick had released a statement calling them “propaganda” and imploring anyone who might know anything about it to come forward. No one had. Tina has a sneaking suspicious that the smut in question had come not from someone in the office but from an outsider—someone they had never seen before. And she intended to find out who.

It wasn’t long before she stumbled across a red brick building. She was intending to walk briskly by it but was startled by a figure hunched against the wall. Their hand was curled around a pen and they appeared to be scribbling words down furiously. She smiled to herself. She knew she had found the one.

She stopped next to them, opening her mouth to speak. “Hey. Did you happen to be a few streets over from here during the day?”

Nick looked up, debating playing it coy for a minute before just deciding to come clean. He knew at once what it was about. “What’s it to you?”

Tina smiled at him before answering. “Well, there’s been an incident of propaganda in the building where I work. I was trying to see if I could find the person who wrote it.”

Nick couldn’t stop the laughter from leaving him upon hearing the word propaganda. “Really? That’s what they’re calling it? That’s a new one for me.”

Tina chuckled. “Yeah, right down from the boss himself.” She paused, giving it a minute to sink in. “Listen, the reason I was looking for you is that I wanted to offer you a position at the place where I work. I probably can’t hire you on officially as a propaganda writer, but I’m sure we could figure out some other title to give you.”

Nick looked up at her in disbelief. “Really? Wouldn’t that be unprofessional?”

That question earned a full belly laugh from Tina. “We’re not a very professional group anyway. Besides, my associates and I, not the bosses but who cares about them, are interested in reading more of your work. Just figure out something that could be viable for me to hire you for, and I’ll meet you down in the lobby tomorrow night to give you a tour and a place to work.”

Nick felt immensely grateful, and he hoped it showed in his face. “Well, my parents always wanted me to be an accountant.” He chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, uh?”

“Tina.” She provided for him.

He smiled. “Cool, I’m Nick. I’ll see you then.”

“See you,” she said, shaking his hand before she left. As she walked away she smiled to herself. That had been easier than she thought. She couldn’t wait to tell Sid.

-

Nick entered the building legally for the first time the next night, meeting Tina at the door. She informed him that it was safe for her to hire him, since for some reason the security footage from the day he had broken in had malfunctioned. He smiled at that – what an unbelievable stroke of luck.

They stepped into the elevator, Tina giving Nick the normal talk about where everything was and where he would be allowed to live and work. He listened to her intently, trying to keep his eyes away from the tall girl while simultaneously feeling her eyes digging into him. Finally he looked up at her, just as the door to their destination swung open. She smiled and winked at him as he exited.


End file.
